Australia's greedy and probably illegal theft, through espionage, in 2004 of fledgling, struggling neighbour Timor-Leste's government's deliberations on a dispute between the two nations over ownership of oil and gas reserves was a disgrace.

Unprecedented legal action against two men for allegedly breaching the intelligence services act has sparked fierce debate about the balance between national security and the public's right to know.

Transcript

Matthew Doran – Intelligence whistleblower turned independent MP Andrew Wilkie has called on the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to launch an investigation into the role the nation's intelligence services played in the bugging of East Timor's cabinet rooms.

Christopher Knaus – Australian federal police (AFP) say they are assessing a request to investigate the lawfulness of Australia's controversial spy operation against Timor-Leste during sensitive oil and gas negotiations.

A group of crossbenchers on Thursday sought to raise the stakes in the controversial prosecution of former spy Witness K and his lawyer Bernard Collaery.

Michael Vincent – Australian lawyer and former legal representative for East Timor, Bernard Collaery, says the charges against him for allegedly breaching the Intelligence Services Act for revealing Australia bugged East Timorese government offices mean he is facing the prospect he may never practise law again.

Max Lane – The laying of criminal charges under the Intelligence Services Act 2001 against Witness K and lawyer Bernard Collaery in relation to their exposure of the Australian government's reprehensible bugging of the East Timorese government's cabinet room is a case of a defeated and wounded elitist white imperialism lashing out at somebody at home because they can't do it to the

Christopher Knaus – A decorated US diplomat spied upon by Australia as he represented Timor-Leste during lucrative oil and gas negotiations has described the prosecution of the two men who exposed the covert operation as "vindictive and pointless".

Binoy Kampmark – It took the protective grace of parliamentary privilege to encourage independent Australian MP Andrew Wilkie to reveal that a former Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) officer, known as Witness K, and his lawyer, former ACT Attorney-General Bernard Collaery, had been charged by the Commonwealth Department of Public Prosecutions.

Patrick O'Connor – A new East Timorese government was sworn into office on June 22, following an early election held in May that was triggered by the collapse of a minority Fretilin administration earlier this year. Fretilin is now the official opposition party, after receiving 34 percent of the total vote and 23 of the 65 seats in parliament.

Christopher Knaus – The former New South Wales supreme court justice Anthony Whealy has warned it would be "disturbing" to prosecute a former spy and his lawyer in secret over their role in revealing Australia's bugging of Timor-Leste's cabinet.

Viji Menon – Timor-Leste's second parliamentary elections in a space of 10 months have raised the prospect for a resolution to the young country's political gridlock; but challenges remain which call for exceptional leadership from all parties.

The President of the Board of Timor-Leste's Women's Network Timor-Leste Judite Dias Ximenes said women's representation within the divulged composition of the VIII Constitutional Government of Timor-Leste has decreased compared to previous governments.

She said in 2015, women made up 24% of the leadership roles but in 2018, this has decreased to 14%.

Paul Karp – The attorney general has refused to elaborate on why he approved the prosecution of a former spy who revealed Australia had bugged Timor-Leste's cabinet rooms, describing it as an "independent decision" of prosecutors.

David Dixon – They just couldn't leave it alone could they? The Attorney-General's decision to approve charges against "Witness K" and his lawyer, Bernard Collaery, for telling the government of East Timor that their offices had been bugged by Australia is a crude act of political revenge against a whistleblower.

Anne Barker – When police in East Timor caught a large fleet of Chinese fishing boats last year, with thousands of dead sharks on board, the evidence of illegal fishing – on a massive scale – seemed indisputable.

Clinton Fernandes – The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, Sarah McNaughton SC, recently filed criminal charges against Canberra lawyer Bernard Collaery and his client, a former officer of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS).

Nick O'Malley – A retired senior judge has expressed alarm over the decision to charge the former spy known as Witness K and his solicitor Bernard Collaery for exposing Australia's bugging of East Timor during contentious oil and gas negotiations.

Anton Hermansyah, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo congratulated Timor Leste for holding a successful election on May 12.

Jakarta – First Lady Cidalia Lopes Nobre Mouzinho Guterres of Timor Leste paid a brief visit Thursday to Kampung KB (Family Planning Village) at a child-friendly integrated public space (RPTRA) in Kalijodo, North Jakarta, where she and her Indonesian counterparts spoke about sexual and reproductive health rights.

Michael Sainsbury and Jose Belo, Dili – Timor-Leste's new government has hit a major hurdle in its plan to improve fraught relations with Australia over the sensitive issue of maritime boundaries in the gas-rich sea between the two countries.

Ahmad Faiz Ibnu Sani, Jakarta – Timor Leste President Fransisco Guterres urged has called on Indonesia to support his country to become a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

He conveyed his wish to President Joko Widodo or Jokowi during Guterres' visit to the Bogor Presidential Palace on Thursday, June 28.

Anton Hermansyah, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo met Timor Leste President Francisco "Lu Olo" Guterres during the latter's state visit at the Bogor Palace in Bogor, West Java, on Thursday.

Criminal charges have been filed against a spy-turned-whistleblower who exposed a secret Australian bugging operation in East Timor, parliament heard Thursday, in what one MP called an "insane development".

Andrew Greene and Lucy Sweeney – A Canberra lawyer whose client exposed a secret Australian spying operation in East Timor has described the prosecution against them both as an attack on freedom of speech.

Paul Karp and agencies – Criminal charges have been filed against the spy-turned-whistleblower who revealed Australia had bugged Timor-Leste's cabinet rooms, federal parliament has been told.

Rod Mcguirk, Canberra, Australia – Australia's prime minister on Friday distanced his government from a decision to prosecute a former spy and his lawyer who accuse Australia of illegally bugging the East Timorese Cabinet while negotiating a deal to share oil and gas revenue.

Anton Hermansyah, Bogor, West Java – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo welcomed East Timor President Francisco "Lu Olo" Guterres at the Bogor Palace in West Java on Thursday.

Paulina Quintao – Women's participation in the labor force in Timor-Leste is still limited to 21% compared to men's 40%, according to data from the labor force survey 2015.

Celestina Soares – The Director of the Central Basic School (EBC) in Akadiru-hun, Dili, Mateus Pinto Tilman urged the Public Service Commission (PSC) to encourage teachers aged 60 and upwards to retire so that new teachers can be recruited.

Dili – Former Timor Leste independence fighter Jose Maria de Vasconcelos was sworn in as Prime Minister yesterday and pledged to bring unity to the nation after months of political deadlock.

President Francisco Guterres dissolved Parliament in January after former prime minister Mari Alkatiri's minority government faced a legislative stalemate.

Dili – East Timor's president is refusing to swear in 11 members of cabinet because of corruption investigations, marring the formation of a new government following a protracted political stalemate in the young nation.

Harold Mitchell – Today finds me in Timor-Leste. Not too many Australians are aware of this tiny nation just 40 minutes off the coast of Northern Australia. But our influence over this brave band of just over a million people has been enormous.

Nelson de la Cruz, Dili – East Timor will swear in as prime minister on Friday its former president and independence fighter Jose Maria de Vasconcelos, putting an end to months of political deadlock in the tiny Southeast Asian nation.

Michael Sainsbury, Yangon, Myanmar – Former East Timor president and revolutionary leader Taur Matan Ruak has been announced as the country's new Prime Minister five weeks after the Alliance of Progress and Change coalition won a majority of 43 in the nation's 65 seat legislature.

David Hutt – It is almost certain, barring a constitutional calamity, that Taur Matan Ruak will soon be appointed the new Prime Minister of Timor-Leste.

Paulina Quintao – The President of the Women's Association for Aileu Municipality, Cristina da Conceicao said it is difficult for women producers from Aileu to access markets to sell their products and earn money to sustain their families.

Paulina Quintao – The Executive Director of the National Hospital Guido Valadares (HNGV), in Dili, Dr. Aniceto Barreto said currently there are 12 Chinese medical specialists providing health assistance at the hospital.

The specialists are providing care in urology, surgery, ophthalmology, maternity, radiology, as well as in other areas.

Paulina Quintao – Based on the monitoring done by the Human Rights Association (HAK) of prisoners' situation, many complain of lack of contact with the public defender who defended them in court.

Bharati Jagdish, Singapore – "I thought I was going to die. I lost four litres of blood, but my concern was whether the country would slide into a civil war," says Jose Ramos-Horta as we talk about the attempt to assassinate him in 2008.

Paulina Quintao – The representative of Catholic Church and Bishop of Dili Diocese Dom Virgilio do Carmo da Silva urges the new government to unify all Timorese and their dreams and to work together to develop better Timor-Leste during the next five years.

Paulina Quintao – Human Right Association (HAK) Program Advocacy Officer Xisto dos Santos believes the government has committed a violation against the right of prisoners by allowing 100 prisoners to share a single cell block.

Jonas Guterres – Timor-Leste has held a series of successful and competitive elections in the last year; one for president, and two separate parliamentary elections. The country also has gone through peaceful transfers of power despite experiencing political impasse since July 2017.

Nelson de la Cruz, Dili – An East Timor opposition coalition, including a party led by independence hero Xanana Gusmao, won a majority of the seats in the May 12 election, a court has confirmed.

The new ballot was called to end months of deadlock in the country, where there had been a minority government led by Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri since July 2017.

Paulina Quintao – The Director for Becora prison, in Dili, Joao DomiNGOs said Becora prison can only accommodate 250 prisoners, but currently it hosts 606 prisoners which puts a strain on prison services.

Jose Belo, Dili, Timor-Leste – Timor-Leste's parliamentary elections on May 12 have returned Xanana Gusmao to the Government Palace in Dili in an alliance that gives him enough votes to govern in his own right.

Hao Duy Phan – On May 9, 2018, the Conciliation Commission in the maritime boundary dispute between Timor-Leste and Australia issued its report, marking the conclusion of the first-ever conciliation proceedings under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Rebecca Strating and Clive Schofield – In April, Australia and Timor-Leste reached agreement on their maritime boundaries in the Timor Sea. This resolved a longstanding source of contention between them.

Jonas Guterres – Through the fresh election held on May 12, Timor-Leste has for the time being put an end to nearly half a year of political impasse.

Muslims in Dili, the capital of predominantly Catholic East Timor, have welcomed Ramadan with great joy.

Estevao Nuno – Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Timor Aid aims to preserve Timor's culture through book documentation to inform Timorese in the future about their culture.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Timor Aid, Florentino Sarmento said besides promoting the original culture of Timor, Timor Aid also attempted to regenerate cultures that are becoming extinct.